


The Other Us

by StarGamerxox



Series: 30 Day Sanscest Challenges [2]
Category: Undertale
Genre: 30 day challenge, Angst, Getting Lost Somewhere, M/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:54:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24325366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarGamerxox/pseuds/StarGamerxox
Summary: Time was something Cross didn’t want to mess with. He didn’t even think he was able to mess with it.That was until Nightmare accidentally teleported Cross into the future.And then Cross met the other version of them, and then Cross met his future.
Relationships: Nightmare/Cross
Series: 30 Day Sanscest Challenges [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755211
Comments: 61
Kudos: 31





	1. Day 1; Getting Lost Somewhere

Cross allowed his head to fall backwards as the world around him spun in circles like a spinning top. He had been sitting in his room when the siren sounded. The castle had been under attack and Nightmare had grabbed his arm and teleported him away before Cross could summon his weapon.

“Hello? Mr?” A hand, a small child’s hand, waved in front of his face. Upon closer inspection he realized that the hand was skeletal and he groaned. It was a skele child. Most likely the kid of some so-called ‘good’ sans.

“Mr? You’re awake right? Why aren’t you up?” The kid asked and Cross darted his hand up to grab the child’s wrist.

“Stop.” Cross hissed and the kid yelped, darting backwards. Cross sat up and stared at him. The kid was white boned but to his surprise the kids bones were turning black as his expression filled with fear.

“MOM!” The kid darted backwards and ran off. Cross watched him run off in shock. That kid had a mark under his cheek, identical to his own except it was the same color and Nightmare’s eyelights. What shocked Cross More was hearing his own voice, much more mature and grown, answer the child.

“Cayda? What’s wrong?” Older Cross crouched in front of the child whose black bones were now forming goop as he clung to his ‘mom’. (pronounced Kay-Duh, my CrossMare shipchild) 

“You-you. There is another you!” The boy yelped, pointing backwards, towards Cross who seemed to grow more confused. Was this other version of himself this kids ‘mom’?

“Wha- omg… he’s so tiny! I remember this! NIGHT! It’s finally happened!” Older Cross turned around and ran into the building behind him, a small cottage-like house. Cayda stood in the doorway staring at him as his bones went back to being white as he seemed to calm down. 

“What is- oh. So this is what happened when you disappeared all those years ago… did younger me really teleport you into the future?” A version of Nightmare, almost identical to his Nightmare, stepped out, picking up the child. Cayda clung to him as he stared at Cross.

“H-hello?” Cross whispered and older Cross moved closer. 

“Hi. I’m technically you from the future so I remember how this felt. You and Nightmare just confessed to each other, right?” He whispered and Cross nodded at his elder’s words.

“Knew it. So this is only about fifteen years in the future if you can believe that. The boy over there is our son Cayda. We have a few sons older than him, but Cayda over there is four. Our eldest is thirteen. Cayda is technically the youngest of five.” Older Cross hummed and the younger felt himself go dizzy and collapse, passing out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Cross?” Nightmares voice echoed in his head and he perked up.

“Night?” Cross whispered, moving around in panic.

“Where did I teleport you? Where are you?” Nightmare panicked and Cross laughed bitterly.

“I’m fifteen years in the future, Night. I was found by our… future youngest son.” Cross whispered and suddenly he felt arms around his waist. He leaned backwards.

“And I’m guessing you passed out from this information? I’m only communicating with you because you fell unconscious on your own.” The darkness around him morphed into Nightmare and Cross smiled weakly.

“The battle?” Cross asked and Nightmare nuzzled his face onto Cross’s neck.

“Finished. I’m currently in the infirmary. I’m okay, just minor injuries and a slight concussion. I’m glad you passed out though, because I needed to know where I sent you. When you wake up, ask the older Cross how you get home for me?” Nightmare whispered and Cross nodded.

“Will do… see you soon?” Cross asked and Nightmare moved to be in front of Cross. 

“As soon as you know, find a way to fall back asleep and tell me okay? Then I can bring you home.” Nightmare leaned forward and kissed Cross. (Well technically it was more so nuzzling their faces together but that was how skeletons kissed)

“Love you Night.” Cross felt himself waking up and Nightmare frowned.

“Love you too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Is he okay mom?” A child’s voice, older than Cayda’s, asked and he heard the older version of himself said something Cross was unable to hear.

“I’m fine…” Cross rubbed his eyes and saw a face. It was a dark boned skeleton with two different colored eyes and a scar completely identical to Cross’s, down to the color.

“Oh good! I forgot that happened… so I’m guessing Night asked how you go home? Don’t worry, he figures it out on his own and he actually never told me. Currently he’s still unconscious but he should wake up soon and he’ll be able to pinpoint your location and pull you back.” Older Cross smiled. Younger Cross dully pointed at the kid who had been watching him.

“Oh! Hello! I’m Incubux! I’m the eldest!” The child grinned and Cross nodded before curling up. 

“You okay?” Older Nightmare walked in, a child a bit older than Cayda on his back, and looked at both Cross’.

“I just… basically until MY Nightmare gets me, I’m basically just lost here.” Cross whispered and the elder pair shrugged.

“How did you do it, Nightmare?” Older Cross suddenly asked, turning to his husband who grinned.

“I can’t tell younger you this yet but I’ll tell you in a bit. Once the younger you is gone.” Nightmare chuckled.

Back at the castle Nightmare awoke and groaned tiredly, 

“You okay Night? Did you find him?” Dust asked and Nightmare nodded dully. 

“I just need to- I think I know how to bring him back!” Nightmares eyes widened and he quickly darted up. He ran into Cross’s room and found something that should still have some of his magic DNA in it. He held onto it as he pushed some of his own magic into it. 

Cross had told him that he was in the same place as their future children and their future selves. He should be able to pinpoint exactly where Cross is by searching for a mix of their magic. 

Suddenly he saw nine spots in the back of his mind. One was him but the others were faint. 5 were much stronger, probably the children. There were two energy signals identical to each other and when he pulled away a bit more of his magic, he saw an energy blob that was a bit brighter than the identical one.

“There you are.” He whispered. Nightmare snapped his fingers and Cross stumbled out of mid air, collapsing in front of the negativity king.

“Night?” Cross laughed and Nightmare just smiled.

“Wait that’s how you did it?!” Cross yelped and Nightmare laughed so hard that Noah had to cling tighter on his father’s back to keep from falling.

“Surprise?”


	2. Day 2; Pet Names

It had been about six months since the incident with the future. Since then Cross and Nightmare have moved into the same bedroom and did a lot together. They were even engaged already, despite others worried, because they already knew they would end up together so why wait. Cross loved talking about his adventure in the future although names and looks would sometimes escape him.

Nightmare had warmed up to others although he still kept himself closed off. Sometimes it seems like he was more so closed off now that he was more open with Cross. It didn’t help that there had just been a wedding date announcement for his younger brother and the creator.

“Nightmare?” Cross rested his chin on the other as he noticed the fact that the negative monster had zoned out yet again. 

“Yea?” Nightmare hummed, leaning his skull against Cross’.

“You were zoning out. Are you tired? I can handle the paperwork for a while if you need me to.” Cross whispered. Nightmare smiled softly and nuzzled his face into Cross’ neck.

“I would love that but then you’d be working and I want to finish up so I can rest.” Nightmare whispered and Cross grinned.

“How much longer?” He asked and Nightmare looked back at Cross before using his tentacles to bring Cross into his lap and hugged him. Cross smiled and burrowed his face into Nightmare’s shoulder.

“Only an hour or two more love.” Nightmare whispered and Cross groaned before cuddling against Nightmare’s chest.

“If it’s gonna take that long then I’m gonna take a nap,” Cross mumbled into Nightmares chest. Nightmare couldn’t help but lean into Cross’s floofy hoodie, smiling like an idiot. 

“Sleep well then Crossy,” Nightmare whispered before Cross shifted to look up at him.

“Crossy?” Cross smirked softly and Nightmare gently reached out to stroke Cross’s cheek.

“It’s your cute nickname…” Nightmare whispered and Cross blushed.

“Wait-what? Now I gotta get a cute nickname for you!” Cross hummed and Nightmare shook his head.

“No I'm gonna give you one….hmm.. NIGHTLIGHT!” Cross grinned madly and Nightmare lit up teal with a giant blush.

“Cross…” Nightmare mumbled and Cross giggled before yawning again. Cross couldn’t help but think back to their futures. Sometimes those thoughts hit him at the worst times.

“You realize that the eldest was thirteen if not a few months passed… that was fifteen years in the future and nine months means… six months at most before I become pregnant with Incubux,” Cross whispered before gasping and covering his mouth.

“Yea… that’s kinda terrifying Crossy.” Nightmare whispered before he noticed how Cross was shaking.

“Crossy?”

“Oh god NightLight… you don’t realize what future Cross told me and I’m not supposed to tell you much but-“ Cross squeezed Nightmares hands. “Incubux is born a month early due to something I can’t say yet… they didn’t think he would make it and- and I don’t think I can handle it-“ Cross’s mouth was covered by one of Nightmare’s tentacles. 

“Crossy. You’ve been struggling with details of it for a while. You are exhausted and you might not be remembering things perfectly… take a nap okay? And even if it happens, I’ll be with you and if future you was able to handle it so I have complete trust that you will.” Nightmare whispered. Cross looked up at him before taking a deep breath.

“Yea… you are right NightLight…” He whispered to himself before hiding his face in Nightmares chest again.

“Everything will be okay Crossy… I swear it.”

(Day 3 is patching each other up and day 4 is hospital visits. We will see baby Incubux on day 4.

Also yes, what Cross mentions about baby Incubux is something I planned while completely cognitive.)


	3. Day 3; Patching Each Other Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, this chapter took legit forever. Please give it some love.

(This one is really long and only roughly fits the theme. It’s not physical patching but more mental after an incident. Once it’s finished I’ll put the word count up here)

(Word count: 2565)

The three months after were shocking for everyone involved. Nightmare wasn't close to his brother so he had been the last to hear of Dream and Ink's wedding. Apparently he missed out the part where those two had a son and now that the star sans were missing, Palette had become Nightmares ward.

Apparently Ink and Dream had a large argument over this before Dream insisted that his brother would take care of their son. 

At first everyone blamed the Nightmare gang, but with the arrival of Horror and Lust’s son, Desire, a month ago, the group stopped fighting. 

“Someone answer the door!” Killer yelled from his room and Cross sighed, going to the front door.

“Hello?” He asked and was shocked to see a sans in what seemed like a lawyer’s uniform or just a fancy suit.

“Hello. I am sans from Securitale. Dream and Ink entrusted me to deal with their assets in the chance that they perished or went missing in battle.” The sans said and Cross tensed up.

“Do you need to speak with Nightmare?” Cross asked and the sans nodded. Cross had a sneaking suspicion he knew what was going on and that made his soul ache with fear and grief.

“Yes. The Star Sans’ went missing two nights ago and none of them have been seen since, I must talk with Nightmare about his brother and what Dream entrusted to him.” Securi hummed and Cross nodded.

“Follow me. He is just doing paperwork right now.” Cross turned down and began to walk towards the hallway before taking another turn to head up the stairs.

“Forgive me for asking, but why does he do paperwork exactly?” Securi asked and Cross managed a small smile.

“If you haven’t realized, this castle isn’t in DreamTale. In fact, it isn't in a named au in the first place. Nightmare found this abandoned Au that was missing its sans after he apparently lost his mind and later died. Or at least that’s what they said. (this part is kinda important. If you know lore about a certain outcode then ummmm) Nightmare was able to fix it up and became this world's new sans. He basically has an entire au he’s the leader of and that job usually comes with a bit of paperwork.” Cross explained before stopping at a door. 

“Thank you for explaining that. Now I must talk with him.” Securi hummed and Cross nodded before opening the door and leading Securi in. Nightmare studied Securi before turning to Cross who quickly explained the situation. Once Nightmare learned about his brother, fear and grief and sadness filled his expression and his goop seemed to sag.

“What is it my brother left for me? His trash or something?” Nightmare asked.

“It’s best I talk about this situation with you… alone.” Securi looked at Cross.

“He will be staying by my side,” Nightmare looked down and Securi took a deep breath before nodding.

“See… Dream and Ink had a son… in their absence… Dream put his son in your care.”

“He what!?” Nightmare almost choked in surprise but Cross placed a steady hand on Nightmare’s shoulder.

“The boys name is Palette and he is three years and eight months of age. He will stay with you as your ward until we either find proof of his parents death, his parents come back, or three years pass. If the first or third options occur then a court session will be scheduled to see if you are truly fit to become his new adoptive parent.” Securi explained as if Nightmare wasn’t having a complete meltdown.

“Why me?” Nightmares whisper was almost inaudible.

“From what he explained to Ink during their argument, he wanted to prove that he trusted you. He had been trying to get in touch with you for years but Ink always intercepted his messages. Dream trusted you not to use his son for negative gain like many other sans might have.” Securi hummed and Nightmare felt his soul shake. His goop was actually starting to melt and he squeezed his eye sockets shut.

“Night… I’m his Fiancé. He’s struggling right now, this is a lot of information… but I believe we are capable of caring for Palette right now. He don’t have a lot of experience but there is a one month old in the castle and they weren’t kidding when they say that it takes a village.” Cross laughed awkwardly as he moved to pull Nightmare into a side hug. Nightmare hid his face in Cross’s side and whimpered.

“You will come with me tomorrow morning to go meet Palette. After that we will discuss the finer details before you can take Palette home with you.” He explained before standing to leave. Cross nodded softly as he rubbed the top of Nightmare’s skull.

“Hey… Night… it’s gonna be okay. I promise,” Cross whispered to a completely passive form Nightmare who refused to leave his room.

“What if this is all a mistake and I’m not supposed to be taking care of Palette… or even worse! What if Dream dies! I never even got to apologize for what I did!” Nightmare hiccuped as he hid his face in his hands. Nightmare’s corrupted form melted away when he learned about his brother. All the hatred towards his brother burned away from his soul and was only left with worry and grief.

“Don’t think that way Night. We can handle this… I mean the older version of us has 5 kids. I think we can handle one three year old. I mean, he’s Dream’s kid. Even if he is also Ink’s kid, he’s your brother's kid and you know everything about tiny Dream,” Cross whispered. “Plus I’ll be with you through all of this. I’ve loved you for years NightLight, I won’t leave you now,” Cross smiled sadly at passive Nightmare who hid his face in Cross’s shoulder.

“I’ve loved you for a long time too Crossy… I’m just scared… if it was our kid then we would have time to prepare but this… I know we were set to have Incubux in like a year, but this is too much, too fast.” Nightmare whispered.

“If we can handle your nephew, we can handle anything.” Cross lifted Nightmares head and connected their teeth.

“Now… Dream has spoken about Nightmare around Palette in the past so he will feel more comfortable around you.” Securi explained as they stood in front of Ink and Dreams front door.

“How has Palette been during all of this? It must be hard on the boy. How much does he know?” Cross questioned

“Well… he isn’t taking it well. Ink wasn’t close to his son but Dream was.” Securi whispered before slowly opening the door. Nightmare noticed the starry eyes first.

“Momma!” The boy bolted down the stairs, confusing Nightmares passive form for Dream. Nightmare felt a sob build in his chest.

“Hey… buddy…I’m sorry but... I’m not your momma… I’m… your uncle Nightmare.” Nightmare whispered and the boy pulled away, studied Nightmare closely, and hugged his uncle again, sobbing.

“Momma! I want momma!” He whimpered and slowly but surely, Nightmare lifted the boy into his arms, moving to sit on the couch.

“I know. I miss him too Pal… I heard a lot about you…” Nightmare whispered and Palette pulled away to look up at his uncle.

“How? Daddy said Momma couldn’t tell you… momma missed you… he told me to trust uncle Nightmare.” Palette whimpered and Nightmare laughed sadly before lifting Palette up gently by his under arms. Palette managed a weak smile at his uncle.

“Securi told me about you… but you are a lot like your momma so I’m pretty sure that we will get along great.” Nightmare hummed and Palette smiled at him before leaning forward to hug his uncle.

"Really?" Palette lit up and Nightmare couldn’t help but smile at the boy again.

“Of course. You’re my nephew! Now… Do you want to stay with me for a while? Until we learn more about your mommy?” Nightmare asked softly and the boy nodded before moving to settle in Nightmares lap again.

The past month had been subpar. It wasn’t too eventful. The only strange thing was that Nightmare was still in his passive form and no one knew why.

Palette had settled in the best he could but it still broke his guardians hearts when he woke up calling for his parents.

“It’s not fair to him. We don’t get updates about any of this… all I can imagine is Desire if something happened to Horror and I. No one wishes this fate upon their children.” Lust was usually the first to Palette’s side as he and Horror still had a rocky sleep schedule.

“There isn’t anything I can do. The Star Council already wants him out of my custody and blames me for the Star Sans’ disappearance. I can’t push it without risking my rights to my nephew. My brother was right though, Palette is powerful. Dream has fully admitted, out loud, to basically being a happy battery for the council. I won’t let his son turn out the same.” Nightmare closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I understand that. You know I do. It's just hard to watch.” Lust admitted as he turned off the light next to Palette’s bed.

“I know… I just need a break, Lust. I’ve been summoned by the council and I have to be there early tomorrow morning…” Nightmare whispered before looking back up at Lust.

“I’ll watch Palette tomorrow and I’ll see about getting you a break after that. You need to rest, I know that and Cross knows it. Everyone knows it. You’ll get your break and I won't let those idiots take Palette.” Lust whispered and Nightmare nodded softly.

“Thank you Lust…” Nightmare whispered before laying back against the foot of Palette’s bed.

“You gonna head to bed soon?” Lust asked and Nightmare shook his head.

“I’m gonna stay here in case he wakes back up.” He hummed as he looked up at his nephew.

“Okay Night…” Lust left the room after that.

Cross wasn’t afraid to say that the passive Nightmare brought out a different side of him. He was over protective and found himself acting more as Nightmare had when Nightmare had been in his corrupted form. Maybe that’s half the reason he spent a good ten minutes watching Nightmare sleep.

“Hey… time to wake up.” Cross sighed as he realized that he finally had to wake up his lover. Sometime earlier, Cross had a realization that was kinda shocking. At most, they had 2 months before Incubux would be conceived but now Cross was contemplating what actually happened.

“Nooo….” Nightmare mumbled before he heard a small giggle and Cross glanced up at the barely awake Palette. 

“Uncle! Wake up!” Palette moved to climb in passive Nightmare who groaned at the unexpected weight of the child now on his chest.

“I’m up…” Nightmare wrapped his arms around the boy and immediately Palette giggled and squirmed in his uncle’s arms.

“Night. You have the meeting. You gotta get going, my love.” Cross whispered and Nightmare whined before hiding his face in Palette’s skull.

“Nightmare… please.” Cross hissed and Nightmare finally sat up.

“But-“

“Lust set up time for you to have a break, just get going. We won’t let anyone take away Palette while you're gone and we will take care of the au.” Cross hummed before pulling up Nightmare. 

Nightmare hated the Star Council headquarters. They didn’t just remind him of the dark times he had when he battled them. They also reminded him of his brother who was currently missing.

Nightmare was reminded about what happened to Dream, what he did. Nightmare saw how the council members used his brother for positive emotions. Worst of all, Nightmare remembered that he missed out on so much of his brother’s life.

“Hello? You called for me?” Nightmare asked as he walked in. The room, that had been loud only a few seconds ago, went silent and everyone stared at him.

“Hello, you monster.” Bird sans hissed and Nightmare tensed up.

“Please don’t call me that…” he whispered. Most judges scoffed.

“Where is the boy?” Underfell hissed.

“He’s safe with me and my boy’s.”

“And how can we trust you? For all we know, you took the Star Sanses!” Sci spoke up, snarling at Nightmare.

“Shut. Up. Dream was my brother and no matter what, I wouldn’t wish this upon him. Not only that but I’ve had my kingdom in a basic lockdown since Horror and List had their son. I wasn’t planning to lift that for three or so years. How could I have taken them? Why would I have taken them?” Nightmare snapped, tearing up.

“Maybe you wanted to get custody of Palette and then turn him evil!” G!Sans yelled and Nightmare stared at him.

“I had no clue that he even existed until a month ago. Are you kidding me?” Nightmare laughed before covering his mouth.

“I have to agree. Dream has been trying to reach out and makeup with Nightmare for a while now. He has been a great guardian for Palette and- Nightmare? Are you okay?” Securi turned to Nightmare who was leaning forward.

“N-no I’m n-not-“ promptly Nightmare threw up and Sci ran over to him.

“Night!” Cross ran into the room. He had been called over but he had an idea about why Nightmare had thrown up.

“Crossy-“

“Uncle!” Palette ran over and crawled onto Nightmare’s lap. Nightmare looked down at his nephew before smiling softly at the boy

“Hey Pal.” Nightmare whispered as he pulled Palette into a hug. Cross took a deep breath.

“Do you know why you threw up?” He asked and Nightmare looked up at Cross with a dull look.

“I think you figured this out already, my love.” Nightmare grumbled.

“So you’re pregnant? You carry Incubux?” Cross asked and Nightmare nodded before looking back down at Palette.

“I explained what happened to Sci and he said that it’s why I’m still in my passive form. He also said that it may be why Incubux is born sick and early as my passive form is very weak.” Nightmare hummed as he stroked Palette's skull.

“Okay… so… this wasn’t how we expected but we’ve got this. We didn’t expect it to be you carrying him or to be taking care of Palette at this time but we’ve got this.” Cross whispered as he sat down next to Nightmare.

“The boys already were worried as to why we got engaged so fast, it freaked them out. They barely took our excuse of the fact we’ve loved each other for years and spent years close. How are they going to take the fact we are having a kid… Crossy, they already thought we were moving too fast.” Nightmare whispered and Cross grabbed his fiancé’s hand.

“No matter how they take it, I’ll always love and adore you Night. We had my whole life together and now that I’ve become immortal, from being an outcode for so long, we have both our immortal lives together NightLight. Everything will be okay. I promise. We have Palette and we have our friends,” Cross whispered and Nightmare nodded.

“I can do this. We can do this.” He repeated.

“Exactly.”


	4. Day 4; Hospital Visits

To say they were worried was an understatement. Incubux had been born more than two months early due to health issues that Nightmare and Incubux faced. They had to deliver Incubux as soon as he was big enough to have a chance at survival. It had been a month since then.

In that month, Nightmare recovered and was able to go home despite the fact that he had a kingdom to run, he spent most days at the hospital that medic sans ran. The worry about his son pushed him back into his passive form although he was slowly going back into his corrupted form now that his son had passed the one month mark without too much issue.

“Now, Incubux is a fighter but even if he passes the two month mark without issue, he will still have to be kept here for at least five months. If he had any health issues within seven months after his birth, he might not have the energy or strength to fight back. I’d recommend that, if you want to have more children, Cross carry them for Nightmare’s health as well as any future children’s.

“Nightmare?” Cross watched his fiancé -actually husband as they had gotten married a month after they found out that Nightmare was pregnant- as he packed a small bag.

“I’m sorry Crossy but I need to be there for him. He’s going into surgery today for his soul. They have to see why his hp keeps dropping among other issues. They said I could be there for him and I need to.” Nightmare whispered and Cross shook his head before moving to his husband’s side.

“I’m not upset. I was gonna ask if you planned on bringing the bracelet that Palette gave you. You usually bring it everywhere and you left it on the bedside table.” Cross hummed as he handed Nightmare a small braided bracelet. Nightmare smiled as he took it, putting it back on.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come too?” Nightmare asked and his husband shook his head.

“I’m king now too. I’ve also gotta take care of Palette while you are gone.” Cross kissed Nightmare and his husband pulled the Oreo closer.

“I’ll be back in a few days.” He whispered.

“Give Incubux a kiss for me, Okay?” Cross asked and Nightmare nodded.

“Hello Nightmare.” Medic greeted as the negative monster walked in.

“Hello Medic. How is my son?” He asked.

“His hp dropped again and he’s struggling a bit but the procedure will still happen today.” Medic informed and Nightmare nodded.

“I can’t wait until these horrid hospital visits stop.” He whispered and Medic nodded.

“It’ll be nice to see Incubux go home.” Medic hummed as he opened up the door to Incubux’s room. Medic was able to watch the way Nightmares face went from happy, to guilty, to worried, and finally settled at happy again as he moved over to his son.

“Nightmare?” Medic asked and the king of negativity just shrugged as he looked down at his son.

“He’s so small…”

“Yea, He is Nightmare.”

“But he’s so much bigger then when he was born.”

“That’s because his growth wasn’t stunted despite his issues at birth.”

“Will he make it?”

“Oh, that’s not even a doubt in my mind. I promise that your son will make it. I can’t promise that life will be easier for him but he will make it.” 

“Thank god…”

“Uncle?” Palette asked as a black goopy creature walked into their living room. With the news that Incubux would, for sure, survive and live, Nightmare quickly went back to his corrupted form.

“Heya Pallet- Wait what are you doing!?” Nightmare squeaked as his nephew run into the kitchen and filled a bucket with water before lifting the bucket back into the living room.

“You’re covered in goop uncle. How did you get all dirty?” Palette asked as he lifted the bucket and Nightmare took a hurried step backward.

“Wait Palette it’s no-“

“Don’t worry! I’ll clean it up!” Palette yeeted the water ya his uncle who let out a scream as the water sizzled at his new shell of negativity.

“Sorry Uncle…” Palette mumbled as Nightmare sat on the couch, half his goop melted off.

“It’s okay Pal. Just don’t do it again.”


	5. Day 5; Scar Worship

(Once again, this focuses more on the mental scars in this, like the fact that Nightmare might be sensitive after years of being bullied by the town or the fact that his brother is missing. He also may have mental scars regarding his son's near death experience at birth.)

Incubux had been home for a week. He was eight months old and sleeping through the night. Despite that, Nightmare often went into his son's room and watched him sleep. It was mostly just his paranoia but he was happy he did it that night.

“Hey… Hey baby.” Nightmare scooped his son up as the baby began crying, most likely after having a nightmare.

“I know… I know…” he hummed as he left his sons room, rocking the infant as he walked. Incubux’s whines slowly turned into soft coos.

“Nightmare?” Cross saw his husband walk in, dragging the bassinet from against the wall to the side of the bed.

“I… he had a nightmare…” Night whispered as he placed his son in the bassinet.

“Would it make you feel better if he stayed in here? You know I’ll never say no to that. He’s my son too and I worry too.” Cross placed a hand on his husband’s shoulder and Nightmare smiled.

“Let’s just sleep,” Nightmare whispered as he laid back down, pulling Cross into his chest. Cross smiled softly and hid his face in his husband’s chest.

_ “Heya! Tiny me!” Older Nightmare had somehow summoned Nightmare into his dream space. _

_ “Wha-“ _

_ “I remember what it was like for me during that time. Incubux has just been home a little bit, right?” Older Nightmare moved to stand in front of his younger self. _

_ “Yea…” _

_ “But that’s not all that’s bothering you, is it?” He asked and younger Nightmare shivered. _

_ “It’s been over a year since Dream went missing.” He whispered. _

_ “But it’s also around the anniversary of when you locked him in stone or when you were beat up by the bullies. It’s hard little me. I know that. I worked hard on figuring out how to reach you in your dreams. Tell Cross what’s bothering you. He will help you.” Older Nightmare patted the younger's head before smiling. _

_ “And Incubux is gonna be just fine. Also, I’ll tell you a secret… Dream is alive too, just wait for him.”  _

Nightmare awoke in tears and a hand was petting his skull.

“I saw-“

“Yea. I did too. I saw the older me and… I’m so sorry. We’ve been so focused on the kids that I barely noticed how much you were hurting.” Cross whispered and Nightmare smiled at his husband.

“It’s okay Cross. I was hiding it. I’ve been scarred and my scars can be rather ugly.” Nightmare whispered. Cross kissed his skull.

“Your scars are beautiful Night. Every single scar warms my heart. The only ugly thing about them is the fact I couldn’t protect you from getting them in the first place. I love every scar in every way except how you gained them. I wish I could have protected you from the bullies. I wish I could have done more for you but they are all a part of you now.” Cross whispered and Nightmare lifted a hand to Cross’s scar. Cross laughed and nodded.

“I love you Crossy.”

“I love you too NightLight. Scars and all.”


	6. Pay attention!!

So… anyone still here? Sorry my stories have been gone so long. I started working on a role play with my editor and then I got lost.

One thing I will say as a general rule and this isn’t just for attention,

Things like comments make my day. I know I get a lot of kudos but they don’t hit the same as a comment. Sure, if I see like 5 people leave kudos on the same book in one day, I grin but serious guys, comments make me wanna write.

Like you would for any artist, you’d comment and like things to help them.

Please, just like art such as paintings and comics, writing is an art. Even fanfiction is an art and things like comments can make someone’s day.

Sometimes, especially in chapters where I ask for reader interaction, I lose interest in writing if no one seems to like or interact with my book.

So pretty much every book has a chapter started.

Books like ‘Go Back’ and ‘Their Fates’ were so easy to write when I had reader interactions. The go back separate endings, specifically the empireverse one, will be rewritten and fixed up but I’ll keep the older version out.

Speaking of rewrites, I’ll be editing and fixing some of the books. I’ll be removing previous notice chapters from some books as I edit and fix them. I’ll post the next chapter of said book when I’m ready and done editing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Input, even with stuff like this, is helpful


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